Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this story incorrectly named Kristin Davis’ father. His name is Keith Eugene Davis.
After two months inside a Brooklyn jail, Sean “Diddy” Combs experienced another setback as he prepares for his sex crimes trial in May, with another federal judge denying his request to be released on bail.
Before the Thanksgiving holiday, Judge Arun Subramanian ruled in favor of prosecutors, determining the hip-hop mogul should not be allowed to prepare for his 2025 trial from a private residence. Combs’ lawyers previously proposed what they called “an extremely substantial, comprehensive bail package” with a $50 million bond, arguing their client has not been able to adequately prepare for his case from inside the Metropolitan Detention Center.
USA TODAY has reached out to Combs’ representatives for comment.
Subramanian’s ruling marked the third time a U.S. District Court judge denied Combs pre-trial release on bond. In October, a federal appeals court judge also denied Combs’ immediate release pending a decision from a three-judge panel on his motion for bail.
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“The Court finds that the government has shown by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community,” Subramanian ruling, obtained by USA TODAY, reads. He noted U.S. attorneys have presented “compelling evidence of Combs’s propensity for violence,” including by showing footage of him attacking ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016.
During a Nov. 22 bail hearing, prosecutors continued to argue Combs presented a risk of danger and witness tampering. Combs’ defense argued against the picture the government has painted of the rapper and again asserted that their bail proposal addresses any concerns about ensuring Combs would return to court and would not engage in obstruction of justice.
Subramanian had both sides submit letters on Nov. 25 detailing Combs’ communications from jail before making his decision.
Combs’ renewed motion for bail, filed earlier this month, was Combs’ latest attempt at being released before his trial, following two requests around the time he was charged and an appeal filed in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in September.
Diddy’s lawyers proposed $50 million bail, 24/7 security
This latest proposal, like those prior, offered a $50 million bond secured by the equity in Combs and his mother’s Florida homes, implementation of a 24/7 monitoring service by approved security personnel, no internet or phone access for Combs outside of meetings with legal counsel, a pre-approved visitor list consisting of select family members and surrendered passports belonging to the rapper and his family members.
This latest bid also mentioned Combs being willing to participate in “full home detention” at either his $48 million Miami home “or at a suitable location in New York.” His family visits would be monitored by assigned security and Combs would be subject to “testing for a prohibited substance” as needed.
Subramanian, in his Wednesday ruling, expressed skepticism of the conditions Combs’ attorneys suggested as he wrote, “The Court doubts the sufficiency of any conditions that place trust in Combs and individuals in his employ—like a private security detail—to follow those conditions.” The judge also pushed back on claims that the jail’s conditions were not conducive to the rapper’s preparation for trial: “Combs has not carried his burden of demonstrating that release from detention is necessary for trial-preparation purposes.”
When Combs, 55, arrived in the Manhattan courtroom with members of the U.S. Marshals Service for a bail hearing on Friday, he wore a beige jail-issued outfit and blew kisses toward his family seated in the second row. His mother, Janice Combs, and his children — Quincy Brown, Christian “King” Combs, Justin Dior Combs, Jessie Combs, D’Lila Combs and Chance Combs — were photographed arriving at the federal courthouse earlier in the day.
Combs, who is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, pleaded not guilty to the alleged crimes and has maintained all of his sexual encounters were consensual in the face of mounting civil lawsuits over the past year accusing him of rape, trafficking and sexual abuse from the 1990s to 2022.
Prosecutors, Diddy’s team argue over his use of other inmates’ communication accounts
In their Nov. 25 letters, Combs’ team argued all of his actions since being detained fall under his First Amendment right to free speech as he “(defends) himself in the court of public opinion.” Meanwhile, U.S. attorneys rejected this claim and detailed his alleged “extensive efforts to taint the jury pool” while at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
In his filing, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, noted “District courts have interpreted ‘obstruction’ … to include willful actions that jeopardize the integrity of judicial proceedings.” He claimed Combs “has used multiple unauthorized means of communications, which make it difficult or impossible to monitor the defendant’s communications.”
As mentioned in a previous filing, Combs has used other inmates’ methods of outside communication, including phone access codes, and a service called ContactMeASAP to speak with people outside the MDC.
Williams wrote, “The Government has no way of knowing whether there are other PAC or ContactMeASAP accounts the defendant is using of which the Government is not aware. Put simply, when the defendant uses other inmate’s accounts, his communications are very difficult—if not impossible—for BOP and the Government to track and monitor.”
In a previous filing, Combs’ lawyers said they were unaware use of ContactMeASAP.com by an inmate “was unauthorized by (the Bureau of Prisons) as it is widely used in the prisons.” They also noted, “The government has never once instructed defense counsel to have Mr. Combs refrain from using the service, nor has the BOP.”
“Inmates will frequently use other inmates’ minutes to allow for (1) more than one call in a one-hour period; and (2) more phone calls once their 300 minutes expire,” defense attorney Teny Geragos previously wrote, adding that BOP officials “are able to monitor every message Mr. Combs sends and receives.”
He stopped using ContactMeAsap.com “as of November 16, 2024.”
However, Williams alleged Combs continued “to use the ContactMeASAP account of at least one other inmate, sending messages to a family member as recently as November 24, 2024.” He also claimed, “While at the MDC, the defendant has instructed family members and third parties to contact multiple potential victims and witnesses.”
In Wednesday’s ruling, Subramanian weighed in on Combs’ jail communications, writing “The Court makes no determination that the content of Combs’s communications through these channels was improper.”
“However, his willingness to skirt (Bureau of Prisons) rules in a way that would make it more difficult for his communications to be monitored is strong evidence that the Court cannot be ‘reasonably assure[d]’ as to the sufficiency of any conditions of release,” he added, “especially given that they occurred when Combs was seeking bail, and when he knew the government’s concerns about witness tampering and obstruction were front and center.”
Why Diddy’s past bail requests were denied
The first time Combs sought bail, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky sided with U.S. attorneys’ argument that Combs posed a risk if he were to be released for home detention.
“There are no conditions I can impose that would reasonably assure the appearance in court and the safety of the community,” Tarnofsky said Sept. 17. “I don’t know that I think you can trust yourself, and I don’t believe that counsel has the ability to control you, given the very significant concerns I have, particularly because of substance abuse and what seem like anger issues.”
The following day, Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. — who has since recused himself from the case — also ruled against Combs, determining that no amount of bail could guarantee Combs wouldn’t tamper with witnesses.
“I find that the government has proven that the defendant is a danger regarding obstruction of justice and witness tampering by clear and convincing evidence,” Carter said. “I also find that the government has proven that the defendant is a danger to the safety of others in the community.”
Last month, federal appeals court judge Nardini denied Combs’ request for immediate release pending the court’s decision on his motion for bail. Nardini referred the motion to a three-judge panel within the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
In Combs’ Second Circuit appeal, his lawyers argued the proposed conditions of his release were adequate in ensuring he will show up in court.
“Indeed, hardly a risk of flight, he is a 54-year-old father of seven, a U.S. citizen, an extraordinarily successful artist, businessman, and philanthropist, and one of the most recognizable people on earth,” the appeal stated.
What evidence do US attorneys have against Diddy?
Investigators claim Combs elaborately schemed to use his finances and status in the entertainment industry to “fulfill his sexual desires” in a “recurrent and widely known” pattern of abuse, which included so-called “freak offs” — sexual encounters he allegedly orchestrated and recorded.
U.S. attorneys have allegedly obtained Combs’ information and data from phone, tech and social media companies as well as hotels and airlines. They’ve also said they have seized more than 100 phones, laptops, tablets, iCloud accounts, cameras and flash drives.
Meanwhile, Combs’ attorneys have cast doubt on the alleged crimes the evidence purportedly shows. In a TMZ documentary released last month, “The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment,” one of Combs’ lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, suggested Combs’ “freak-offs” were simply “threesomes.”
Contributing: Luc Cohen, Reuters
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
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